Newbie with Type 2

[Martin Canty]

generous with info and experience

Perhaps my sharing was a little TMI......😳

In all seriousness, I can generally feel if I'm going to have a Metformin Day & it usually lasts until lunch (my first meal of the day).... Take the Metformin with food & most people are OK

 

[wolfcub83]

Perhaps my sharing was a little TMI......😳

In all seriousness, I can generally feel if I'm going to have a Metformin Day & it usually lasts until lunch (my first meal of the day).... Take the Metformin with food & most people are OK

That's ok I was fully informed of side affects 🙂 at the end of the day of it helps in the long run them it will be worth a few days of discomfort 🙂

 

[Lindarose]

Hi wolfcub and welcome from another type 2 on metformin. Only one slow release a day and I'm lucky no bad effects. Hope you find the extra one doesn't cause problems.

 

[wolfcub83]

Hi wolfcub and welcome from another type 2 on metformin. Only one slow release a day and I'm lucky no bad effects. Hope you find the extra one doesn't cause problems.

Thank you 🙂

 

[bilbie]

When you start metformin, it's never only wind 🙂
This is what I would have liked to have known from day 1. I would cut the Sugars including fruit/juice and Starches, including breads, pasta, rice, potato etc

This gives a simple overview to how it works for me. The more carbs I eat, the more carbs I want. They don’t give up easy and it’s biochemical
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEayi6IBjZw&list=PLCD72F4109EDC4BD8&index=6

introduction to low carb
www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb

What to expect the first week, besides being hungry for the first 2 days, then it stops
https://www.verywell.com/getting-through-the-first-week-2242037

 

[Owen]

I would take things a little less extreme, make changes gradually to allow your body to adjust. Any sudden change in diet will make you feel as unwell as no change.

 

[bilbie]

I would suggest extreme is the current high carb diet for T2s. Perhaps if your read the links, you will find that it isn't extreme?
https://www.verywell.com/how-much-carbohydrate-is-right-for-you-2242035

 

[Owen]

I would suggest extreme is the current high carb diet for T2s

No one had ever told me to go on a high carb diet for diabetes. Switching any regime should be done in a way that the body can adapt. Not attacking the lchf, just saying take things one step at a time. This also gives people a chance to figure out of it is for them.

 

[bilbie]

From the quoted site, it does go into great depth, There are no hard and fast rules.
Getting to the Goal
Atkins and Agatston both require a highly restricted initial phase of their diets. It is these phases that have drawn the most criticism. It is legitimate to ask whether it is necessary to cut carbs this much, even for a short time. However, others, notably the American Diabetes Association, recommend cutting back more gradually on carbohydrate to find the best amount. There are pros and cons to each approach.

 

[KookyCat]

Hi Wolfcub
Welcome aboard 🙂 This is a really overwhelming time, diagnosis is usually a bit of a shocker and it takes a while to get your head around it, so give yourself a minute to process. Food wise everyone is different and can tolerate different types and amounts of carbohydrate so you have some experimenting to do. A meter is a great idea because it lets you know how you're reacting to food. How restrictive you decide to be with your diet is your choice, have a read about low carb high fat diets (LCHF) and the other options and then you can decide which approach would be useful for you, lots of people reduce carbs significantly because it helps with control, but you'll probably find it more sustainable if you reduce the foods you don't tolerate well rather than a blanket reduction of everything all at once. You'll probably find that you can tolerate some foods at some times of the day but not others as well, very confusing when you first start with all this, who knew all this was going on quietly in the background so I can eat a bowl of cornflakes at night without so much as a flicker from my blood sugar (with insulin because I take insulin for food) but I tried it once at lunchtime and you'd have thought I'd fed my body it's own weight in orange juice, it was very exciting as experiments go but not one I'll repeat. Anyway I'll stop rambling now and finish with, it's your body and your diabetes, you have to work out how best to manage it for you which means a bit of experimenting so whip out your test tubes and lab book, and feel free to give some results here, there's always people willing to help 🙂

 

[Bubbsie]

I was told by the nurse there was no need to test myself as yet , why not im not sure . I have been taking Metformin for 3 days , only 1 in the morning with breakfast then after 10 days to add 1 with dinner . Been told to walk the dog longer as im allready on my feet working 7 hours a day . Diet ... was told to eat normally but smaller portions and avoid white bread and soft carbs . to be honest im very confused

I was given the same advice twice...not to test BG...nonsense...been testing regularly...learning so much from it...would echo the advice above...get a meter and start testing...

 

[Mark Parrott]

Welcome, Wolf cub.🙂

 

[Stitch147]

Hi Wolfcub and welcome to the forum. I was one of the lucky ones, when I was on metformin I had no side effects really, just a bit of bloating for a few days, nothing else. I personally dont follow a really low carb diet, but I have significantly reduced the amount that I was eating and have cut certain things out all together, like white bread. It is a steep learning curve but you will get there in the end and learn what works for you. Ive been diagnosed for just over 1 year now and still struggle to get my levels down some days, but Im a bit of an oddball when it come to diabetes.

 

[grovesy]

You have to find what works for you and can maintain long term! It is also sometimes how much of some things you eat!

 

[Puskas]

Hi Wolfcub, I'm in the same situation as you. It's all a bit daunting, I felt ill for about a year and a half with no apparent reason. Now I know why. I love my food but it seems like time to change.

There seems to be loads of nice people giving advice here. Basically I've starved for 2 days as I'm scared to eat anything now and the fridge is full of nice cr*p.

Nice to know that we are not alone in this.

 

[Ralph-YK]

Welcome Wolf Cub from a fellow T2, almost 22 months in. Interesting name. I didn't know there were supposed to be side effects from metformin till I read it on these forums.

 

[wolfcub83]

Thanks everyone I don't feel so alone now . 3 days in and the tablets are fine but I am having some headaches ... is this normal ? Guess my body is in shock changing my diet . I'm such a junk foodie

 

[wolfcub83]

Hi Wolfcub, I'm in the same situation as you. It's all a bit daunting, I felt ill for about a year and a half with no apparent reason. Now I know why. I love my food but it seems like time to change.

There seems to be loads of nice people giving advice here. Basically I've starved for 2 days as I'm scared to eat anything now and the fridge is full of nice cr*p.

Nice to know that we are not alone in this.

Scary isn't it ? I'm afraid to eat the wrong thing ...

 

[Owen]

Scary isn't it ? I'm afraid to eat the wrong thing ...

Don't be afraid, try and get a stock of food that won't effect your bg, this will give you an armoury of snacks. Eggs, cheese, bacon, pate, chicken, tomatoes, olives.

You will find your own tolerances for trial and error.

Good luck

 

[Redkite]

I never thought of the salt part , wow this is such a learning curve . Thanks for the input 🙂

Eek no I don't agree with that advice about salt! Please don't start adding an extra teaspoon of salt a day, that's a huge amount. We need sodium as a trace element but we all have far more than we need in our diets, and it leads to an increased risk of kidney damage and of hypertension (high BP). Adults should be having no more than 6g salt maximum per day. It is surprisingly hard to stick to this, even when you add no salt to any cooking. There is around 0.5g of salt in a slice of bread for example.